B-36 MUSEUM HISTORY

B-36  MUSEUM EVOLVED FROM A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE DEDICATED TO THE RESTORATION OF THE LAST B-36 INTERCONTINENTAL BOMBER "CITY OF FORT WORTH" FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY.  DURING THE AIRCRAFT'S RESTORATION, THE GROUP BEGAN EFFORTS TO RAISE FUNDS AND OBTAIN SUPPORT TO DISPLAY THE MIGHTY BOMBER INSIDE A FACILITY AS REQUIRED BY THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. 

ADEQUATE FUNDS AND SUPPORT WERE NOT OBTAINED AND THE AIR FORCE REASSIGNED THE AIRPLANE TO PIMA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM IN TUCSON, ARIZONA.  AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF THE AIRPLANE, THE GROUP DECIDED TO CONTINUE THE B-36 MUSEUM TO TELL THE STORY AND HISTORY OF THE B-36 AND TO MAINTAIN ITS LEGACY FOR THE CITY OF FORT WORTH.  MEACHAM AIRPORT PROVIDED SPACE IN ITS TERMINAL TO DEVELOP A SMALL  MUSEUM  FOR THE B-36 AND  AVIATION HISTORY  IN  NORTH TEXAS.   DISPLAYS WERE SLOW TO DEVELOP AND THE SPACE WAS EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO COMMERCIAL USE.  

THE OV-10 BRONCO ASSOCIATION/FORWARD AIR CONTROL MUSEUM HAD BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITY OF FORT WORTH FOR USE OF AN OLD SCHOOL BUILDING AND ITS PROPERTY ON THE FAR SOUTH END OF MEACHAM AIRPORT.  B-36 PEACEMAKER MUSEUM AND OV-10 BRONCO ASSOCIATION HAD ESTABLISHED CLOSE TIES WHEN THE GROUPS RESTORED AN ORIGINAL OV-10  "BRONCO" MOCKUP. 

BASED ON THIS, B-36 PEACEMAKER MUSEUM WAS PROVIDED SPACE IN THE OV-10 FACILITY TO CONTINUE ITS MISSION OF TELLING THE HISTORY OF THE B-36, ITS DESIGNERS, BUILDERS AND AIR FORCE PERSONNEL WHO OPERATED IT, PLUS THE PLANT THAT BUILT THE B-36 AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

SPECIAL EXHIBIT ITEMS SUCH AS A RARE 1923 DIRIGIBLE ENGINE, WHEELS AND PROPELLERS FROM AN EARLY B-36, A 1950s ERA PRESSURE FLIGHT SUIT AND A FLIGHT CONTROL COMPUTER FROM A B-58 HUSTLER SUPERSONIC BOMBER ARE DISPLAYED.

B-36 PEACEMAKER MUSEUM IS THE CARETAKER OF THE "STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND MONUMENT" LOCATED AT NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH. 

FUTURE PLANS ARE TO FEATURE VARIOUS OTHER AIRCRAFT THAT HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED IN NORTH TEXAS. 

B-36 PEACEMAKER MUSEUM SPONSORS A FREE PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES FEATURING SPEAKERS FROM DIVERSE AVIATION SPECIALTIES.  THE LECTURES ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND ARE HELD ON THE THIRD TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH AT 7:00 PM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER WHICH IS LOCATED ON CAMP BOWIE AND MONTGOMERY STREETS IN FORT WORTH. SEE THE "LECTURE" PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE FOR CURRENT PROGRAMS.

RELEVANCE:

The B-36 was important not only to the city that produced it, but to the entire free world as well. The aircraft became the primary nuclear deterrent to aggressions of the Soviet Union during the Cold War and prevented the enslavement of entire populations of European countries.

In summary, we offer the following reasons why the B-36 is an important historic artifact of Fort Worth, North Texas, and our Nation: 

• 1. The B-36 program at Fort Worth's Air Force Plant 4 prevented a major economic decline immediately after the end of WWII. 
• 2. The B-36 program caused major expansion of Fort Worth's economy and infrastructure by attracting supporting industries such as transportation, communications, banking, petroleum, metals, plastics, textiles and rubber. 
• 3. The B-36 program prevented the closure of Fort Worth Army Airfield when it became a SAC base and the 7th and 11th Bombardment Wings occupied the base to conduct intercontinental B-36 operations. 
• 4. The B-36 program enabled Bell Helicopter Corporation to move to Fort Worth by providing job shop contracts to Bell for B-36 parts while the Bell plant was being built. 
• 5. Demand for advanced electronics and avionics systems at Air Force Plant 4 resulted in the establishment of major electronics and semiconductor industries in Dallas. 
• 6. The first significant move toward racial equality in Fort Worth began at Carswell Air Force Base when the Strategic Air Command abolished racial segregation during the B-36 era.  Many minority citizens earned positions as aircraft commanders and other leadership functions during this time. 
• 7. Fortunes amassed by Fort Worth residents from investments in aircraft and aircraft-related industries eventually funded philanthropic foundations which provided the beginnings of Fort Worth's art museums and which help sustain them today. 
• 8. The B-36 became the only effective deterrent to the Soviet Union's Cold War efforts to enslave Europe and most of the free world. 
• 9. The B-36 enforced the peace in Korea and later during the Suez Canal Crisis. Without it, the Korean War would have continued and millions of lives would have been lost on both sides of the conflict. 
• 10. B-36 aircraft were mass-produced in Fort Worth by Fort Worth citizens.